over at bell of lost souls, duke (of duke's inferno) has posted this:
the dogma of the wargamer:
- as a wargamer, i am not owned by one company alone.
- as a wargamer, i am loyal to excellence in rules sets that encourage balance and fair play. (either in tournaments or in casual play).
- as a wargamer, i am loyal to excellence in miniature manufacturing.
- as a wargamer, i am loyal to companies that are fair in pricing.
- as a wargamer, i am loyal to companies that are accessible and provide me with timely information.
- as a wargamer, i am loyal to companies that value me as a customer, not a commodity
- in return, these companies will receive my financial support
and i got a similar feel from an article over at frontline gamer challenging the belief that gw games are the only games in town.
which makes me wonder if we're at the cusp of a new age in miniature wargames. gw recently released an early earnings statement that looks encouraging for them (financially speaking, at least), but locally i've noticed a lot of players moving into other game systems (primarily warmachine/hordes).
i've done it myself, having started warmachine about two years ago, and flames of war this spring. i haven't purchased a toy soldier from games workshop in well over three years.
there seems to be a prevailing attitude that "we will not be your good little consumer anymore", and that makes me hopeful. i see the emerging and increasing popularity of such games as warmachine/hordes, infinity, dust tactics and warfare, dystopian wars, malifaux, and hail caesar! as a great thing. competition is always good for the consumer, and if a particular game system sees a loss in market share then it must improvise, adapt, and overcome (through writing better rules, producing better models, reevaluating pricing structures, etc.) or be left behind.
this is our time. these are our games.
"la liberté guidant le peuple" by eugene delacroix
tinnaman square protest image by jeff widener of the associated press
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